17 DECEMBER 1870, Page 2

The German King or Emperor is evidently not himself in

the• most admirable spirits about his prospects. In an order of the day dated the 6th of December,—after the great Orleans victory, and' the partial failure of the Paris sorties,—he says, " We enter upon. a new phase of the war. Every attempt to break through the line of investment has been in vain." He adds that if the enemy per- sist in the prosecution of the war, he is " confident the soldiers will show the same ardour to which the successes already achieved; are due,"—not a very cheerful prospect for the soldiers, who had: hoped the next "new phase" of things would be home and glory,. not the old story of hardship and death over and over again. But this is what conquest means.